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anonymous555's avatar
anonymous555
Joining in
2 months ago

Absolutely apalling customer service that's made me want to cancel my plan.

I've been using Virgin for 9 months, and the whole time they haven't been great. My WiFi is incredibly unreliable and constantly loses connection. However, I stuck with my plan as me and my housemates are only students and believed we couldn't reasonably afford anything better, and didn't want to deal with the hassle of cancelling and finding something new.

Today I receieved an email telling me I had an outstanding balance in my account. This was 5 days after my bill (newly increased in price, may I add) had left by bank account via direct debit, and I could see the transaction in my banking app. Naturally I was confused and didn't want any late fees or restrictions, so I tried to log into my account for further answers. However, I'd forgotten my password and the password reset email refused to be sent to my inbox, no matter how long I waited or how many times I tried, so I called the customer service line provided.

Unfortunately, instead of being transferred to a real human being, I had to deal with an automated voice. This was an absolutely abysmal experience, way worse than any other automated customer service line I've called before. Not only did none of the options pertain to what I was asking, the automated voice refused to transfer me to a real human until I could provide my password, which I kept explaining I couldn't do. The continued repeats of "please state your password" no matter how many times I tried to make it go back or change tactic were infuriating.

I had to call three seperate times, twice asking specifically about changing my password, and the third I gave up and simply talked about the error in my balance. When I called regarding my balance, it gave me a solution completely unrelated to my issue, and then hung up on me. Not to mention each time I called it sent me a bunch of texts begging me to download their app and log in to my account.

Eventually I had to give up on their phone line as it was getting nowhere and tried their chat system on their website. I had to again deal with automated answers trying to figure out what I was saying before I was finally connected to a real human. One person I was connected to never answered me when I asked them a question and I had to disconnect, and after going through three individuals I was eventually told that I couldn't log in because they were having issues with their website, and the outstanding balance was an error and the email was just "a reminder" (despire it coming 5 days after I'd paid the bill and specifically saying the words "you have an outstanding balance on your account").

This experience left me incredibly drained and frustrated. Once me and my housemates have moved out of this house I know I will be cancelling my plan immediately and telling everyone I know not to use Virgin. I already had an unfavourable opinion of them due to their terrible broadband service, but their abysmal customer service is the nail in the coffin. In fact, the only reason I'm writing this here is because they don't have a customer service email I can send this to. (Seriously? How am I supposed to talk to a real human at this company when your phone line is automated and refuses to connect me to a human, and the people in your online chat service ignore my questions.) Sorry, Virgin, but I won't be paying your fee hikes anymore if this is what they get me.

5 Replies

  • Thanks for reaching out to us anonymous555, and welcome to our Community Forums!

    We're sorry to hear of the notification received in related to the overdue balance - we are currently experiencing a fault with our My Virgin Media accounts, part of this has been some customers being in receipt of the notification that they have an overdue balance.

    In relation to the Wi-Fi issue, can you please expand on this for us?

    How many devices are connected to the router via Wi-Fi, and do you experience Wi-Fi issues in the same room as the router?

    Thanks

    David_Bn

    • anonymous555's avatar
      anonymous555
      Joining in

      Hi, I do not know if there are issues in the room with the router as it's in someone elses bedroom. However, me and my three housemates constantly have terrible service with our devices constantly disconnecting from the internet. I am often only able to use my laptop with a VPN on as the connection is so insecure that google will not recognised it was legit. It is frankly terrible.

      Today, I have also been told that it will cost me over £170 to cancel my plan. Paying £170 to cancel a product that frankly doesn't work is disgraceful.

      • Steven_L's avatar
        Steven_L
        Icon for Forum Team rankForum Team

        We're sorry to hear that you're having an issue with your WiFi connection.

         

        There are so many things that can influence a WiFi connection that are beyond our control, some of which include (but are not limited to) a fish tank being in the same room, walls being built with concrete instead of brick, or it could even be that your next door neighbour's router and WiFi connection is interfering with yours.

        Due to this, I'm afraid that we're only able to offer limited help. Please have a look at the troubleshooting and advice here: https://virg.in/wifisos

         

        The Hub's location could also be causing the coverage problem, so we do need to check the positioning of it. Can you please ensure the following.

        •    It's out in the open if possible.
        •    If positioned near the TV that it's next to it, not behind it.
        •    It's away from large bodies of water (e.g. fish tanks).
        •    It's away from baby monitors, cordless phones and radios.
        •    It's away from microwaves.

         

        Think of the Hub as a radio and WiFi as the sound - the further away you are from the radio, or the more obstacles that are in the way (walls, electronic devices, etc.), the quieter the radio and, in turn, the poorer the WiFi connection.

         

        If that doesn't help, if you have the Hub 3, Hub 4 or Hub 5, you can download our Connect App which will allow you to scan areas of your home and will offer help. You can view more information on that here: https://virg.in/connectapp